Article of furniture



Oct. 8. 1940. .1 E. NILSSON ET AL. M7584 ARTICLE OF FURNITURE Filed Oct. 5, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet l @y Mvw# Oct. 8. 1940. J. E. NlLssoN n AL, 2,217,584

ARTICLE OF FURNITURE Filed Oct. 5, 1939 4 Sheets-'Sheet 2 WNF Oct. 8. 1940. i E N|| S5ON Er AL 2,217,584

ARTICLE OF FURNITUREy Filed Oct. 3, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Ma, Q7

@y MMM;

Oct. 8, 1940. J E. NlLssoN ETA; M7584 ARTICLE OF FURNITURE Filed oct. 3, 1939 4 sheets-sheet 4 Patented Oei. 8, 1940 UNITED STATE ARTICLE oF FURNITURE e John Eric Nilsson and charles Frech, London, England Application october s, 1939, scriaiNo. 297,765 In Great Britain SeptemberZS, 1938 I 8 Claims.

This invention relates to an article of furniture for use as a chair or bed, the term chair being here employed as covering a settee. The article is broadly of that kind in which an extension section is normally supported on a main frame to which said section is hingedly or pivotally connected, the extension section being swung over to extend the supporting surface of the article to convert the chair into a bed.

The main object of the present invention is to provide an article of furniture which has a normal chair or bed appearance, according to the use to which it is put, so that the appearance of the article does not immediately betray the fact V of its convertibility from a chair to a bed, and

vice versa.

'A further feature of the invention is to provide a convertible article of furniture which has a comfortable seat height when used, as it normally would be, as a chair, and with a bed surface of usual bedstead height. Hitherto in bedchairs the provision for a comfortable seat height has generally been accomplished by a bed surface rather lower than that of the average bedstead, or alternatively, if provision has been made for a bed surface of usual bedstead height the seating surface of the article when in chair form has been uncomfortably high. The desired end is achieved according to this invention by elevating abedding support in that part of the chair which remains resting on the fioor until it is in horizontal alignment with another bedding supportcarried by that partof the chair which is swung over to form an extension.

wAnother feature of the present invention is the construction and arrangement of parts whereby an initial swing over movement of the extension section takes place before the means for elevating the bedding support of the main frame come into operation. The provision made obviates the need for. any great efort in the initial move-v ment `of swinging over the extension, the greater effort required for effecting elevation of the bedding support of the main frame being then entirely provided by the weight of the extension as it swings down toward the floor.

The.- invention may be summarised as providing an article of "furniture for use as a chair or lo bed, including a chair base comprising a main frame having side members adapted to be supported on the oor, a movable bedding support extending between the side members, elevating means for the bedding support, an extension section hinged to the main frame, normally constituting a seatunit and carrying a Ysecond bedding support which isadapted to align.l with the elevated bedding vsupport of the main frame, and means for operatingthe elevating means of the beddingsupport of the main frame as said extension is swung over. vPreferably the main frame and the extensionl section are interconnected by hinge bars which are operatively connected to the elevating means of the bedding support, so that such elevating movement is effected automatically Aas Lthe' extension section `is swung over.` In order .to provide for a delay in the elevation of the bedding support of the main frame until after a predetermined initial swing of the extension, said extensionr is conveniently hinged to the hinge bars above the point of pivotal connection of said hinge bars tothe mainframe, the axis of pivoting ,ofv the extension section being automatically transferred after a predetermined-initial swinging movement from the extension `section pivots, to the main frame pivots.

l The accompanying drawings illustrate a practical embodimentvof the invention, and in these drawingsy l Figure 1 is a vpicto-rial View of the closed-up chair, on a small scale, Figures 2 and 3 are cross sections on lines II-II yand III-III respectively of Figure 1, andFigure- 4 is a fragmentary transverse section online IV-IV of Figure 3. Figure 5 is ya' pictorial view of the chair extended into bed v"form, shown on asmall scale and Figures 6 and 7are .-,a,cross section of line VI-VL and a half plan looking in the direction of arrow VII, Figure 5." Figure Bis a fragmentary view similar to Figure 3, butV on an enlarged scale, Figure 9 is a fragmentary Vtransverse section on line IX-IX of Figure 8, and Figure 10 is a view similar to; Figure 8,butl showing the chair in the course. of being extended. Figure 1-1 is a detail View showing theA bolster pad and its operating meansin more detail, and Figures 12 and 13 are fragmentary elevatio-n and sectional lViews of the means for latching vthe chair back to the headboard of the main frame. A

Inv the embodimentillustrated, the main frame of the chair' is designated generally by 'reference A, rests upon the oor on castors l and comprises la front board 2,; a pairof side boxes 3, a yielding bedding-support 4 consisting of an angle-iron frame 5 filled in by a wire-meshmattress and supporting aflock or other padded mattress 6 which extends between the side boxes 3, and -an ill upright' .backboard 1, which forms the headboard tress 6 is normally housed within the lower part of the well of the main frame A, Other parts of the main frame A are referred to later.

The extension section is generally designated by reference B and comprises a pair of upholstered arms 8, an upholstered'back 9 which is pivotally mounted between said arms 8, and a yielding -bedding support I9 consisting of an angle-iron frame II filled in by a wire-mesh mattress and supporting on its upper side an upholstered seat cushion I2 and on its lower side a flock or other padded mattress I3. The frame I I extends transversely between a pair of closed-in boxes I4 which extend above the level of the mati tress and are partially enclosed within the upholstered arms 8 of extension B. The padded mattress I3 normally depends into the well of the main frame A, and loose bed coverings (sheets, blankets, etc.) are accommodated in the space between the top of the flock or padded mattress 6 of themain frame Aand the flock or padded mattress I3 of extension B.

The main frame A and extension B are connected together at their front ends by means of a pair of hinge bars I5, one at each side of the chair, said bars I5 being-hinged to the boxes 3 of the main frame A by means of pivots I6 and also to the boxes I4 of the `extension B by means of pivots I'I. To the lower end of each hinge bar I5 there is pivotally connected the front end of a rearwardly extending link I8 which by its rear end is pivotallyL mounted on a pin I9 slidable within a horizontally disposed slot 20 provided in the upstanding flange of the angle-iron frame 5. The head of this pin I9 is secured to the apex end of a rocker plate 2| of isosceles triangular shape which is situated near' the front end of the main frame A. The pin I9 is pivotally mounted by means of a pivot pin 22 at one of the base corners of the triangular rocker plate 2| to the corner o-f an inverted AL bracket provided in the box 3. The pin I9 is also slidably received within an arcuate slot 23 formed in the wall of the box 3 and has a curvature whose centre is at the pivot 22 of the vrocker plate 2|, the upper end of the arcuate slot extending beyond the lower end and terminating in substantiallyrvertical alignment with said pivot 22. The pin I9 is normally engaged in the lower end of the arcuate slot 23 and approximately midway along the length of the slot 29 in the frame 5.

At a suitable distance from the backboard 1 of the main frame A there is pivotally mounted another rocker plate 24 of similar shape to rocker plate 2|, with its corresponding base corner connected by a pivot 25 to a bracket in the box 3 and its other base corner pivotally con-` nected by means of a horizontally disposed link 26 to the corresponding base corner of the front rocker plate 2|. At the apex end of the rocker plate 24 there is provided also a pin 21 which is slidable in another horizontal slot 28 in the frame 5 and also slidable in another arcuate slot 29 identical to slot 23.

With a .view to dispensing with a bolster, ar

bolster pad 30 of iiock or other padding or filling material is situated at the head end of the mattress 3 and is adapted to be tilted automatically to an inclined position as the chair isopened. This inclining movement is effected by pivotally mounting a cranked lever 3| on a bracket 32 provided on the frame 5 and connecting the outer ends vof its two arms respectively to the rigid frame 33 of the pad 39 and to a slotted bar 34 which is slidable longitudinally relative to the side of the frame 5. The pad 3D is normally urged into the lowered position by a tension spring 35 acting through the crank 3|. 'Ihe pin 2'I of the rocker plate 24 which engages the slots 28, 29 as already described also engages with the slot 36 of bar 34 and when the frame 5 is elevated (see Figure 11) the pressure of the pin 21 against the end of slot 36 also assists in maintaining the pad 30 in the inclined position. During the collapsing of the bed into chair form, that is, as the frame 5 is being lowered into the well of the main frame A, the pin 27 presses against the other end of slot 36 and forces bar 34 rearwardly, thereby swinging the crank 3| on its pivot under the pad 36 which it draws down into the normal position, that is, flush with the mattress 6. The front edge or side of' the pad 39 pivots about its top edge, so that this edge may be flexibly joined to the top rear edge of mattress 6.

The extension B is provided with a board 38 which is normally accommodated in the rear part of the well of the main frame A and is adapted to form a foot-end board for the extended bed. The portion of the board 3B which extends above the bedding frame I I is inclined inwards so that it does not foul the headboard 'I as the extension Bis swung over. Fixed legs 39 for supporting the outer end of the extension B are also provided, and these are normally housed in a hollow 40 formed in th-e back of the upholstered pivoted chair back 9. The chair back 9 has a closure plate 4I which covers the upper part of the hollow 40 and extends down to meet the top of the headboard 'I of main frame A. The chair back 9 is held against swinging movement when in chair form by means of a latch 42 centrally pivoted at about the centre of its length to the inside of the plate 4|, in such a manner that the bevelled point 43 of the latch engages a slot 44 in a striking plate 45 carried by the headboard 42 is normally urged into the latched position by a leaf spring 46 and may be disengaged from the striking plate 45 by pressure applied to its upper end through a nger slot 4l in plate 4|.

, To the upper end of each hinge bar I5 there is pivotally connected the front end of a long link 4.8 which in turn is pivotally connected to one end of a shorter link 49. The other end of link 49 is secured to the projecting end of a rod 5|) which passes transversely through the upholstered back 9, the rod end extending through a bearing block 52 provided within the upholstered arm 8, A tension spring 53 anchored Within the box I4 is connected to the short link 49.

Associated with each hinge bar I5 is a locking bar 54 which lies alongside of the hinge bar and has slots therein to permit it to slidelongitudinally along the hinge bar I5 without interference by the hinge bar pivots I6, II. Straps 55 are provided at opposite ends of the bar 54 to embrace the hinge bar I5, a pin 56 provided on the strap 55 nearer the pivot I6 engaging within a. curved slot 5l provided in a bracket 58 fixed within the box 3. During the extending of the chair into bed form the movement of the pin 56 along the xed slot 5l slides the locking bar 54 longitudinally until its outer end engages within a yoke or socket 59 (Figs. 8 and 10) provided in the box I4.

When the sections A and B are superimposed as shown in Figure 3, it will, of course, be understood that the locking bars 54 carried by the hinge bars I5 are in their inoperative positions due to the fact that the pin 56 carried by each The latch 1 locking bar is disposed in the bottom end of the slot 51 of its related bracket 58. As the section B is tilted forwardly on thepivots I1, the hinge bars I5 and the locking bars 54 do not move until after the said section B moves counter-'clockwise beyond the dotted line position of B shown in Figure 3. When the abutments 66 onthe oors of the boxes I4 contact with the hinge bars I5, the latter begin to turn about the lower'pivots I6. Since the locking bars 54 are carried by the hinge bars I5, it will, of course, be apparent that the pins 56 of the locking'bars will ride in the slots 51 of the brackets 58 and as the hinge bars I5 continue their forward movement, the locking bars 54 will be pushed forwardly until, whenthe section B reaches its ultimate forward limit, the front ends 54a of the locking bars are moved into locking engagement with the so-called yokes 59 carried by the section B. When the ends 54a of the locking bars are engaged with the yokes 59, the pin 56 of each locking bar engages the upper end of its related slot 51 in one of the brackets 58. Since the brackets 58 are carried by the section A and the yokes 59 are carried by the section B, the effect of the locking bars 54 engaging 58 and 59 vwill be to brace the section A relative to section B across the joint between them. In

other words, when the bars 54 are shifted forwardly by the tilting forward of the section B, said bars 54 in effect brace the section B relative to section A, because in addition to the pivots I6 and I1, the hinge bars I5 have the benefit of the supplemental points of support affordedl by the engagement of the pins 56 with the upper ends of the slots 51 as well as the interlocking of the front ends 54a of the bars 54 with the yokes 59. This bracing is desirable so that there will be no looseness at the joint between the sections A and B when the device is occupied as a bed. Ordinarily, the mid-section of a bed assumes the heaviest weight, at least initially when being occupied, and the effect of the locking bars is to guard against the weight of a heavy person imposing his weight at the mid-section of the bed and obtaining the effect of having the head and foot boards tend to lift upwardly. K

Assuming that the device is in use as a bed as shown in Figure 6 and it is desired to convert it back into the form of a chair, the section B is elevated and due to the fact that the ends 54 of the locking bars are still engaged initially with the yokes 59, no movement will take place about the pivots I1 but on the contrary, such pivoting movement will be fully transferred to the pivots I6. on the hinge bars I5, and the hinge bars move in response to upward tilting of the section B, the pins 56 on the bars 54 will begin to move in the slots 51. Continued tilting of the section B toward the section A causes additional travel of the pins 56 in the slots 51 so that when the section B moving clockwise approximately reaches the dotted line position in Figure 3, the ends 54a of the locking bars 54 will be withdrawn from the yokes 59. As will be observed from the drawings, the radius between the pivots I6 and the. pins 56, when the sections A and B are in superimposed relation, is greater than the radius between the pivots I6 and the upper end of the slots 51, and the said slots51 are so designed as to propel the locking bars 54 forwardly to lock-4 ing position in relation to the yokes 59 when the sections A and B are opened to form a bed, and, on the other hand, withdraw the locking bars Since the locking bars 54 are freely slidable froml the yokes 59 when the'parts are moved to form a chair.

' coil spring 6 0 (Fig. 8) is coiled around the pivot." I6Which assists in raising the extension section B as it is swung up from the floor. That is to say, one end of the spring 60 is anchored to the hinge bar I5 while the other end engages beneath the `top of the box 3 so that as the `extension section Bl tilts forwardly, as shown in Fig. I0, the spring becomes woundor tensioned. Thus, when the section B is lifted from the floor, the energy stored in the spring'will assist in lifting the weight of the section B.

The seat cushion I2 is constructed as a sepaf rate unit so as to be movable relative to the frame I I, the front end of the cushion being resiliently supported from the inner walls of the boxes I4 by suspension springs 6I and at the rear end upon spring-poised bolts 62 supported by frame I I.

allow of free movement of the hinge bars I5 are normally covered by a exible strip 640i suitable upholstery material, the said strip 64 allowing theseat cushion I2 to sink freely under load, a

gap 65 being provided above the front board 2` for thelsame purpose. v 4

"FIt will be understood that the mechanism within the boxes 3 and I4 andthe bolster pad operating means is duplicated for both sides of the chair so as to provide uniform movement of all working parts. v

When the chair is to be extended into bed formV the extension Bis released from frame A byrunlatching the chair back 9 and then swinging-,over the extension B by hand. During its initial swing-over movement the vextension B swings about the` upper pivots' I1 and does not impart` motion to the hinge bars I5 until it reaches ythe position shown in dotted lines in Figure 3. The initial Vswing-over movement of the extension B is accompanied by the swinging over relative to said extension of the pivoted chair back 9, owing to thedifferent locations of the pivotal points of the extension B (about pivots I1) and the links 48 (about the upper ends of the hinge bars I5), the links 48 causing links 49 to swing around the pivots 5I) and thus effecting v the swing over of the back 9. The legs 39 are now uncovered so as to be free to contact with the door when the extension is fully swung over. When the extension Breaches the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 3, abutments 66 on the floors of the boxes I4 contact with the hinge bars` I5, so that thereafter the hinge bars I5 and thel extension B swing down together, the point or axis of pivoting of the extension B being automatically transferred from pivots I1 to pivots I6. As soon as the hinge vrbars I5 begin to move they impart swinging movement to the rocker plates 2|, 24 and their respective pins vI9, 21 moving in unison through the slots 23, 29 elevate, without tilting, the frame 5 with mattress 6 and pad 30, until the mattress becomes co-planar with mattress I3. Simultaneously with their traverse through the arcuate slots 23, 29 the pins I9, 21 move along their respective horizontal slots 20, 28 in the frame 5, but since the upper ends of the arcuateslots 23, 29 extend forwardly beyond the lower ends thereof, and also beyond the forward ends of slots 20,' 28, the pins I9, 21 by pressing upon the forward ends of said slots 20,29 carry the frame 5 forward 4so that the front end of mattress 6 is brought into contact or close to the rear end of mattress I3 of the extension'B. The

c' The openings 63 inthe boxes 3 and I4 which actionl of inclining thebolster pad 30 and `of operating the locking bars 54 have already been described. The` elevated frame 5 is held steady by the entering of the pins I9, 21 into the slightly hooked forward ends 65 of slots 20, 28 in framef5. v When collapsing the bed into chair form the operation is in general the reverse of that of extending the chair, that is, the frame 5 with the mattress 6 and bolster 30 is lowered within the well ofthe main frame A during the initial swinging movement of the extension B. The slightly hooked ends 51 of slots 2D, 28 suflice to hold the pins I9, 21 temporarily while the frame 5.is carried rearwardly for a certain distance. T he locking; bars 54 also assist to this end as they ensure that the hinge bars I5 move positively with the extension B during its initial swinging movement, the hinge bars I5 moving about pivots I6. The hinge bars I5 through the pins 56 and curved slots 51 eventually disengage the locking bars 54 from their yokes or sockets 59, and then contact with the front walls of boxes 3, thereby arresting their swing. The extension B now pivots about pivots I1 on the hinge bars I5, and

, the links 48, 49 function to swing over the chair back 9 into its normal position.

We claim:

l; An` article of furniture for use as a chair or bed,V comprising, aV main frame including side boxes adapted to be supported on the iioor, said boxes provided with arcuate slots in their inner walls. a bedding support extending between said side boxesy and including frame bars provided with horizontal slots, pins slidable in the arcuate slots of the boxes and in the horizontal slots of the frame bars, an extension section normally constituting a seat, hinge means for connecting the extension section to the side boxes, said eX- tension section carrying a second bedding support on its underside, and means connected to said pins and operatively connected to said hinge means foriactuating the pins in said slots to rst elevate and then'slide the bedding support of the main frame when said extension section is swung over on the hinge means to bring said bedding supports together in horizontal alinement.

`2. An article of furniture for use as a chair or bed, comprising, a main frame including opposite side members adapted to rest on the floor, a

, bedding support extending transversely between said side members, cooperating means associated with the bedding support and the side members for mounting the bedding support to move vertically and then horizontally with respect to the F y side members, an extension member normally constituting a seat and having a bedding support at- ,its underside, hinge means connecting the front end of the extension member to the side members of the main frame, means actuated by a said hinge means and operatively connected with the bedding support of the main frame to first elevate the bedding support as the hinge means' isactuatedby the tilting movement of the extension member and then to slide the bedding 'support forwardly toward the bedding support of the extension member when the latter reaches its horizontal position, a bolster member disposed transversely of the rear of the bedding sup-port of the main frame and connected thereto at its upper edge by a flexible `ioint, and means carried by the main frame and actuated by the forward sliding movement of the bedding support of the main frame automatically to raise the bolster to an inclined position.

. 3. An article of furniture for use as a4 chair or-bed, comprising, a main frame including hollow side boxes' having arcuate slots in their inner sidewalls, an upright back board connecting said side boxes, and a movable bedding support extending between the side boxes; elevating means for the said bedding support, said elevating means including pins slidably carrying the bedding support and movable in said arcuate slots, hinge bars pivotally connected to the side boxes and operatively connected to said pins; an extension includingside arms, a seat, and a back rest, the latter normally engaging said upright back board, a second bedding support carried by the underside of the extension, said extension pivotally connected at its front end to the said hinge bars f above their point of pivotal connection with said side boxes and having means to engage and move the hinge bars when the extension is tilted forwardly relative to the main frame to expose said second bedding support, said hinge bars, when moved -by the extension, actuating said pins to effect the elevation and forward sliding of the movable bedding support of the main frame to aline said support with the bedding support of the extension.

4. An article of furniture according to claim 3, wherein the bedding support of the main frame hasV side frame members provided with longitudinal slots which, when said bedding support is at rest in the main frame, lie rearwardly of the upper ends of the arcuate slots in the side boxes, whereby, when said bedding support is elevated, said pins will move to the forward extremities of the slots and slide the bedding support forward.

5. An-article of furniture according to claim 3, wherein, the back rest has a releasable latch engagement with the upright back board of the main frame. Y

6. An article of furniture according to claim 3, wherein, the side arms of the extension are hollow and a rod passes transversely through the side arms and back rest to hold the back rest in place when the extension is tilted forwardly, and link means in the hollow side arms for connecting the ends of said rod with the upper end of each hinge bar. w

7. .An article of furniture according to claim 3, wherein, -the elevating means for the bedding support of the main frame includes triangular rocker members having their apices engaging said pins, link members connecting corresponding basecorners of each pair of rocker members, and pivots connecting the other base corners of the rocker members with the inner faces of the hollow side boxes at a point coaxially with the radius of said arcuate slots, and vlinks connecting the pin of each front rocker with the lower ends of the related hinge bars.

8. An article of furniture according to claim 3, wherein, each of the side arms of the extension is provided with a socket, and each of the hinge bars is provided with a locking bar slidably guided relative to the hinge bar, a lateral pin on each locking bar, brackets carried by the inner walls of the hollow side boxes of the main frame and having slots for receiving and guiding the lateral pins of the locking bars, whereby when the hinge bar is tilted forwardly by the movement of the extension section, the said locking bars will be moved forwardly to engage its related socket in one of the side arms.

JOHN ERIC NILSSON. CHARLES FRECH. 

